SkekSil
SkekSil was the Skeksis' Chamberlain, and counterpart to urSol the Chanter. He was Chief Secretary of State, and thus next in line to the Skeksis' throne after Emperor skekSo, he formed a powerful political faction consisting of skekEkt the Ornamentalist and skekOk the Scroll Keeper. Despite his position, he was despised by the other Skeksis for his wheedling voice and underhanded nature.Smith, A. C. H., & Odell, D. (1982). The Dark Crystal. Holt, Rinehart and Winston . Biography The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance After receiving no rejuvenation from the Dark Crystal and overhearing skekTek and skekSo discuss how they had no solution, skekSil stayed close to skekTek and was able to save him when his experiment to restore their immortality started to go wrong. SkekSil counseled skekTek that although the crystal now drained life rather than restore it, it was in actuality a success, since they might be able to use its draining properties to transfer life from other beings into themselves. SkekTek required a test subject, so skekSil suggested a being close to Thra, and at that moment two Gelfing walked past. Minds made up, skekTek did the experiment on Mira and succeeded, with skekSil managing to drink a small amount of her essence. When the Skeksis realized that Rian knew of their actions, skekSil allayed skekSo's fears, saying that no one would believe Rian as the Gelfling want to be ruled. Feud with skekLach in Trial by Fire.]] Before the Garthim War, skekSil had distinguished himself by proposing to the Emperor that the urRu be captured and imprisoned within the castle, in order to stop them revealing the truth of the Skeksis' nature to the Gelflings. Although his plan never went into fruition, he succeeded in sowing distrust among the Gelfling clans over the urRu, telling them that the urRu were in fact cruel wizards who ate the souls of Gelfling children.The Dark Crystal Author Quest: The Gelfling Gathering, The Jim Henson Company (2013) When the Garthim War started, skekLach the Collector became skekSo's most favoured follower, causing skekSil to become consumed by jealousy, and sought to regain the Emperor's favour by finding any information that could compromise skekLach's reputation for loyalty. His first significant discovery was that the Collector was turning the Emperor against skekVar the General, telling him that, contrary to the General's claims, the crop of Gelfling essence was diminishing.Kessel, B. R. & Arnhold, H. (2007) Legends of the Dark Crystal Volume 1: The Garthim Wars. TokyoPop. He enlisted the help of Gelfling slaves and small animals to spy on the Collector, and discovered that the essence shortage was due to skekLach secretly drinking it for himself. Later, the Chamberlain found Neffi, a Gelfling female, attempting to rescue Gelfling prisoners previously captured during the Battle of Namopo Valley. He allowed her and the others to leave the Castle, telling them to remember that it was "skekLach" who freed them. During the Battle of Bah-Lem Valley shortly after, one of the escaped Gelflings was captured and, when asked who released him, identified skekLach as his rescuer. SkekSil took the opportunity to openly accuse the Collector of treason, and challenged him to Trial by Fire, demanding that the Collector admit his guilt should he lose. However, the Chamberlain lost the ordeal, as skekLach had been strengthened by his consumption of essence. Unable to accept his defeat, skekSil continued to press his accusations, until silenced by the Emperor, who ordered him to enjoy the victory celebrations, or face the consequences.Kessel, B. R. & Arnhold, H. (2010) Legends of the Dark Crystal Volume 2: Trial by Fire. TokyoPop. Downfall and exile engage each other in Trial by Stone.]] 800 trine after the start of the Garthim War, skekSo lay dying, and the Chamberlain saw this as an opportunity to ascend to the throne. At that point, he had developed another rivalry, this time with skekUng the Garthim Master. During the Emperor's last days of life, skekSil constantly made reference to his executive position by bringing scrolls and administrative papers to the Emperor's death bed, despite knowing that skekSo was in no position to attend to them, and even attempted to grab the sceptre of office from the unconscious, yet still living Emperor. After the Emperor's funeral, skekSil briefly participated in a path-finding ritual with skekUng and skekZok the Ritual Master (the only other real contender for the throne) in order to pick out a successor. Impatient, skekSil rushed to the throne and took the sceptre in hand. In response, skekUng challenged the Chamberlain to Trial by Stone. He lost the ordeal, and was subsequently stripped of his robes and banished from the Castle. However, as he was leaving, the Crystal summoned the other Skeksis to the Crystal Chamber, where it was revealed that a Gelfling, Jen, had survived the Garthim War. Sensing an opportunity, skekSil followed the Garthim sent to capture Jen, and rescued him and Kira, another survivor, from them. He later reached the two Gelflings in the houses of the old ones, and attempted to convince them to return to the Castle to make peace with the Skeksis. The two refused, and rushed off to the Castle. SkekSil managed to reach them in the catacombs of the Castle, and tried to force them to come with him. In the ensuing struggle, the Chamberlain caused a rockslide to bury Jen, after the Gelfling had wounded his hand. SkekSil took Kira to the throne room, and handed her over to skekTek the Scientist, who intended to drain her essence for the new Emperor skekUng. SkekSil was reinstated as Chamberlain, but soon found his position once again in peril, as skekUng angrily discovered that Jen had escaped from the rockslide. When the Great Conjunction that would grant the Skeksis immortality came, and the escaped Gelflings were on the verge of healing the Dark Crystal, skekSil attempted to offer the two their freedom if they handed over the shard. The offer was rejected, and the Great Division was ultimately reversed. Behind the scenes Being the original film's primary antagonist, the chamberlain puppet was technically the most complex Skeksis, having 21 electronic components and requiring four people to operate, in contrast to the other Skeksis which needed only two. At the time, it was considered the most advanced puppet in cinematic history, with its eyes, brows, beak and hands articulated by pneumatic devices.C. Finch, The Making of the Dark Crystal: Creating a Unique Film, Henry Holt & Co, 1983, pp. 44-45, ISBN 0-03-063332-X. Frank Oz, who performed the chamberlain, declared in an interview that he had a soft spot for the character, describing him as a villain who would murder his own mother with a smile, a facial expression he insisted be incorporated on the character's design.D. Snow, "The world beyond the Muppets". You: The Mail on Sunday Magazine. 28 novembre 1982:10-14. His scepter was based on a mandala.C. Gaines, The Dark Crystal: The Ultimate Visual History, Titan Books, 2017, p. 123, ISBN 1-78565-592-2. Gallery Chamberlain.jpg The Chamberlain.jpeg SkekSil Instgarm.jpg UrSol SkekSil.jpg|SkekSil with his urRu counterpart, urSol the Chanter. SkekSo with skekSil & skekZok in armor.jpg|SkekSil (left) with emperor skekSo and Ritual Master skekZok skekSil & skekTek.jpg|SkekSil and skekTek skekSil the Chamberlain.jpg|SkekSil the Chamberlain skekSo, skekTek, skekSil, & skekOk.jpg|skekSo, skekTek, skekSil, & skekOk References External Links * Category:Characters Sil Category:The Dark Crystal characters Category:Legends of the Dark Crystal characters Category:The Power of the Dark Crystal characters Category:Males Category:Villains Category:The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance characters